OCD Chicago

Fear of Causing Harm

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Read the article: How I Treat OCD Killer Thoughts: Treating Violent Obsessions

Fears about harm, whether physical, sexual or mental, often are accompanied by morbid obsessions about causing harm, such as:

Concerns about being careless and possibly causing harm to another or self, including in the preparation of food; providing care for children, medical care or elder care
Fear of not doing enough to help another
Concerns that words or acts will be misinterpreted as hurtful (or sexual)
Involuntary thoughts of violent behavior or of willfully causing harm to another individual, child, pets or self
Unwanted vivid imagery of violence or of a harmful sexual nature
Fears of possibly having committed such acts in the past
Sudden frightening thoughts about carrying out such acts
Magical thinking – the belief that a thought can cause an event to happen or not happen

OCD compulsions that may be used to ease the anxiety created by these obsessions include:

Repeatedly checking to make sure appliances are turned off or that doors to a home, garage or office are locked
Avoiding being around certain people or children (or not being alone with them)
Repeatedly checking on children (or someone in your care) to see if they are OK
Repeatedly washing food, examining food for spoilage
Mentally arguing with thoughts of harmful actions
Conducting physical or mental rituals, such as repeating words, phrases, prayers; counting, saying or avoiding saying certain words or phrases at all costs to keep bad things from happening or harm coming to self or others
Spending time analyzing harmful thoughts and looking for signs of agreement with the thoughts